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(04-15-2015, 02:31 AM)TMKM94 Wrote: I'm hoping it will be something that's not in KW yet like Longo's or Loblaws...

Loblaws is alive and well in KW under the Zehrs name. This is for historical and marketing reasons. When the Westons bought the Zehrs chain of grocery stores from the Kitchener-based family several decades ago they decided to keep the name due to its deep roots in SW Ontario. But the ownership is with Loblaws, as is Valu-Mart, Superstore, No Frills, et al.

As for Longos, the Westons even have that segment covered by Fortinos.

Note the similarity of their website design, that they all feature President's Choice products, offer PC Points, etc. just like all Loblaws-owned stores.

I actually hope it's not a Sobey's as I find them to be expensive . Looking around the area , I have a hard time thinking what it could be as basically all that is around here , is already out there . What I wish it would be is a butcher shop as there is none fresh around here . Yes Robert's is near but its frozen .

(04-15-2015, 11:01 AM)clasher Wrote: None of those are really close to Fairway Road though.

Thanks , that is what I was meaning as none are within maybe a 10 minute drive of the area . We have almost everything else around this area but a true butcher shop

Perhaps not a true butcher shop (no chicken, for example) but Finest Sausage and Meat is only a seven minute drive from Wilson and Fairway Road. And Sproll's Fine German Bakery is only 100 steps from Finest Sausage. You can get great cold cuts, etc. and fabulous bread in one stop. Both businesses are at the Kitchener Market on Saturdays and Finest Sausage and Meat is also at the Victoria Street Market.

I know Loblaws/Weston's own Zehrs, R.C. Superstore, No frills, Valumart, etc (I work at Valumart) but I assumed Loblaws had it's own atmosphere and bigger variety of products, I didn't realize that Loblaws is the exact same as Zehrs.

(04-15-2015, 12:28 PM)TMKM94 Wrote: I assumed Loblaws had it's own atmosphere and bigger variety of products, I didn't realize that Loblaws is the exact same as Zehrs.

The variety of products at a Loblaws store varies by location. The same is true with Zehrs. This is probably a function of the store size, local preferences and manager's judgement. So neither of each are truly the "exact same" as the other.

I consider the two banners essentially equivalent because they operate in mutually exclusive areas. For example in Toronto, where the flagship banner is Loblaws, there are no Zehrs stores, and in Waterloo region, where Zehrs is the main banner, there are no Loblaws stores.

Meanwhile banners that are meant to be distinct from the "main" Loblaws/Zehrs brand like ValuMart, Superstore, No Frills, etc. exist in both Toronto and Waterloo.

But that said, I'm making assumptions here too based on personal observations. I don't have any direct insight into the Weston-owned grocery chain's marketing strategy.

(04-15-2015, 01:30 PM)tomh009 Wrote: Given that Zehrs is Loblaws' regional mainstream grocery brand in SW Ontario, a Loblaws-branded location is highly unlikely (and also it would be little different from Zehrs).

Longo's or Metro would be the two chains that have no local presence. Metro is already in Guelph so a K-W location might be an easier reach for them than for Longo's.

I doubt we'll see a Metro in that location, as there's a Food Basics (owned by Metro) down the street.

I also doubt that it'll be a Metro. There used to be a Metro store in Cambridge at the corner of Can-Amera & Franklin until the beginning of this year. It closed due to low sales and from what I heard Metro didn't sound interested in opening another store in our area

The Metro in Cambridge was doomed to fail. There was already a much larger Zehrs two minutes away with an established customer base and easier access (you couldn't turn left to get in or out of the Franklin driveway because of the median).

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